The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are called 'hypocrites' and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.

, the verses of violence in the Quran are mostly open-ended, meaning that they are not restrained by the historical context of the surrounding text. They are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah, and just as relevant or subject to interpretation as anything else in the Quran.

The context of violent passages is more ambiguous than might be expected of a perfect book from a loving God; however this works both ways. Most of today's Muslims exercise a personal choice to interpret their holy book's call to arms according to their own moral preconceptions about justifiable violence. Apologists cater to their preferences with tenuous arguments that gloss over historical fact and generally do not stand up to scrutiny. Still, it is important to note that the problem is not bad people, but bad ideology.

Unfortunately, there are very few verses of tolerance and peace to abrogate or even balance out the many that call for nonbelievers to be fought and subdued until they either accept humiliation, convert to Islam, or are killed. Muhammad's own martial legacy - and that of his companions - along with the remarkable stress on violence found in the Quran have produced a trail of blood and tears across world history.

There are reflections of this kind of attitude in the American lifestyle today. It's in the social behaviors mostly. Consider how the society is structured by community. What communities? Not one of them is self sustainable. They all rely on the state for funds to keep the machine rolling. Punishments for not cooperating in approved policy could range from cutting off the 'community hand' to the till or even outright foreclosure and death. Works on a family level, too. On and on down to the individual. Do it our way, sign here, or die! Same shit, different day, different way!

There are reflections of this kind of attitude in the American lifestyle today. It's in the social behaviors mostly. Consider how the society is structured by community. What communities? Not one of them is self sustainable. They all rely on the state for funds to keep the machine rolling. Punishments for not cooperating in approved policy could range from cutting off the 'community hand' to the till or even outright foreclosure and death. Works on a family level, too. On and on down to the individual. Do it our way, sign here, or die! Same shit, different day, different way!

As far as that community thing goes, there are some who manage to sustain some things on their own:

That brings a good question to mind: How many communities in each state of America can sustain themselves in the event of a crisis? And if they could, would the Feds take it all anyways! Coming in like a raving band of lunatic Mamelukes fighting for the new Mahdi of Doom, grabbing everything from everyone! Whatever that image turns out to be...only God knows!

That brings a good question to mind: How many communities in each state of America can sustain themselves in the event of a crisis? And if they could, would the Feds take it all anyways! Coming in like a raving band of lunatic Mamelukes fighting for the new Mahdi of Doom, grabbing everything from everyone! Whatever that image turns out to be...only God knows!